NIGHT SKY VIEWING HIGHLIGHTS NOW INCLUDE:
GALAXIES TO GLOBULAR CLUSTERS, SPECTACULAR NEBULAE; SHOWING IN SPRING IS GLORIOUS RINGED PLANET SATURN AT ITS CLOSEST; BEING JOINED IN OCTOBER / NOVEMBER BY SOLAR SYSTEM GIANT, JUPITER. (the rings of Saturn are returning to a "closing" phase in a multi-year cycle so don't miss it this year). ALSO, MASSIVE "NEARBY" GALAXIES IN SCULPTOR IN FULL VIEW. AS WE MOVE INTO AUTUMN THE MILKY WAY IS HIGH OVERHEAD AND THE MAGNIFICENT CARINA NEBULA IS ON FULL DISPLAY.

WHEN OBSERVATORY DOORS ARE OPEN AT NIGHT, THERE IS A FEAST TO BE HAD IN THE COSMOS.

LATE SPRING, SUMMER AND AUTUMN DEEP SPACE OBJECTS
include:

• M 42 “Great Orion Nebula”; without question one of the most breathtaking nebula and nearby star forming regions visible from Earth
• NGC 2070 “Tarantula” Nebula; a massive and spectacular “stellar nursery” (star forming region) in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• NGC 104 “47 Tucanae” and NGC 5139 “Omega Centauri” (pictured below); stand alone as the two most spectacular Globular Clusters visible from Earth – seen only from our southern skies. Amateur astronomers from the northern hemisphere travel here just to observe these objects!
• “Jewel Box” Cluster. Crisp, colourful, open group of stars: an exclusive southern gem near our Southern Cross
• NGC 1365 Largest Barred Spiral known … 60 million light years distant and 200 kly across … Awesome
• NGC 5128 “Centaurus A” Galaxy – one of the true visual stunners. Another southern sky exclusive
• NGC 3242 “Ghost Of Jupiter” Planetary Nebula – a star that has died but left a magic legacy
• A Triplet of Galaxies in Leo; that’s three beautiful galaxies in one view approx. 35 million light years distant (pictured below)
• M 104 “Sombrero” Galaxy (pictured at bottom)
• And many more Galaxies, Nebulae and Star Forming Regions

WINTER AND SPRING OBJECTS – WITH LARGE NEIGHBOURING GALAXIES
include:

• NGC 253 “Silver Coin” Galaxy – Big, edge-on and close (only 10 million light years away)
• NGC 55 “Whale” Galaxy
• NGC 5128 “Centaurus A” Galaxy**
• NGC 1365 Largest Barred Spiral Galaxy ** known …
• NGC 2070 “Tarantula” Nebula Massive Star Forming Region
• NGC 104 & NGC 5139 “Omega Centauri”** (pictured below) Globular Clusters
• NGC 7009 “Saturn” Planetary Nebula
• M 8 “Lagoon” Nebula
• M 17 “Swan” Nebula
• M20 “Trifid” Nenbula
• Bright Open Star Clusters & Much More

 

CONSIDER A SOLAR SYSTEM TOUR WITH AMAZING CLOSE UP VIEWS OF THE MOON AND AVAILABLE PLANETS.

Due to the Moon’s brightness, nights available for your selection on our site (in bold)  do not include opportunities to view the Moon. We list only Moonless “dark sky nights”.

However, our Moon is a stunning sight around First Quarter (6,7,8 days after New Moon) with massive craggy craters, mountain ranges and unchanged formations over billions of years due to no erosion clearly visible and to be explored. If planets are up and available to see, the Moon’s light has little negative effect on them. Other objects will also be able to be viewed but the Moon’s light will have varying impacts on those objects depending on its phase.

For those interested in a solar system evening featuring our fabulous Moon, ring us to discuss best date options. N.B These nights are not highlighted in bold nor available on the Booking page. You will need to ring us to organize a special night on the calendar – easy!